Dear BEYSAD Readers;
Another important interview in this issue was made with Mr. Tunç Yeloğlu, Young Beysad member and Sales and Marketing Manager of Valfsan. I have been working with Tunç for quite a while and it is simply impossible to fit everything I can say about him here. However, I can only thank his esteemed father Mr. Orhan Yeloğlu for enabling us to have such a bright young businessman, friend and shareholder. I also would like to thank Tunç for his time and sharing his thoughts with us.

Could you please introduce yourself?

I am Tunç Yeloğlu and I was born in Ankara in 1980, but I grew up in Istanbul. Having completed the elementary school and high school in Istanbul International Community School, I studied Business Administration and Marketing at London Westminster University. Upon my return to Turkey, I worked for Schott Orim as the Process Development Responsible for 6 months and as the Sales and Marketing Responsible for approximately 3 years and afterwards, I started working for our family company Valfsan in 2007. I have been working as the Sales and Marketing Manager for approximately 8 years now.

Could you tell us about Valfsan and its operations?

Valfsan was founded 1983 to produce valves, valve washers, springs, and similar precise press parts used in automobile shock absorbers and refrigerating compressors. Over the years, Valfsan has never lost this focus, which is its area of expertise, and has added more value added processes including heat treatment, machining, grinding, and assembly to its production in order to meet the demands of the customers of these products. It is managed by two founding partners: Orhan Yeloğlu and Adnan Taşkın. However, today we, the second generation, also take active managing roles.

Our interaction with the white appliances sector and BEYSAD is sourced from the products we make for cooling compressors of household refrigerators, which are included in our product range. My father Orhan Yeloğlu has been active in BEYSAD for a long time now and was a member of the Board of Directors and now, he is a member of the Advisory-Auditing Board, while I participate in the forming of Young Beysad Members.

When did your path cross with Valfsan’s?

I have been working for Valfsan since 2007 and I am very happy both for working with my father and for it is our family business and also, for working on dynamic, rapidly changing and exciting subjects. I know it is challenging for many people to work with their family, but I see this as an opportunity; I enjoy working with my family and I constantly learn new things. Moreover, we have a compatible and productive cooperation with our esteemed partners since the establishment of the company. I think this is very important for success and sustainability.

Could you tell us about the organization structure of Valfsan?

Today, we have more than 200 employees, an experienced team of operators and a very young and dynamic management staff. We continue growing, improving and institutionalizing steadily. Our competitors are mainly large-scale international and corporate companies and our customers are companies which are world leaders in their areas, carry out production in multiple locations and have very high quality-wise and operational expectations. We are proud to be competing or cooperating with such companies; Valfsan, which started operations in a 200 m2 workshop by 2 partners and 2 operators, today has become an important player in the international arena that has gained worldwide recognition in its area, exports to more than 40 countries and is located on 14.000 m2 closed area with additional construction soon to be completed.

Today, besides our ISO/TS 16949 certified factory, we have warehouses in Czech Republic and Belgium and consignment stock areas in many locations to give better service to our customers. 

Which sectors do you give service to?

Approximately 45% of our production is sold to the refrigerating compressors sector and 55% to the automotive shock absorbed sector. I can say that we have made a name in these sectors; we receive demands from various points of the world without the need for much active marketing.

Could you tell us about your export rate and which countries do you mostly export to?

90% of our production is exported; 35% of our sales are made to the United States of America and the South America, 35% to European countries, 20% to Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and 10% to Turkey. We sell everywhere from Britain to Czech Republic, from Argentina to the South Africa, from China to India, and even to Australia. We are really proud that we can achieve this as a midsize Turkish family company.

What differentiates you from your competitors?

I think our biggest advantage against our competitors is that while we work as an international company with regards to quality, service, structure and approach, producing in Turkey is less costly than it is in Europe and America. I can say that we are customer-focused and flexible in a real sense; because our company partners previously sat at the other side of the table as customers in their professional lives, they know the sector and products well, which helps us understand better the customers and their expectations and needs. Also, the technical knowledge we have gained because we have never lost our area of expertise and our focus is a great advantage.

As far as I see, our customers are also aware of and happy with this situation; with almost all of our customers, we constantly work on new projects to increase our turnover, and also we receive plenty of demands from new customers. We get positive feedbacks from many of our customers, and even we were awarded the ‘Marquee Supplier’ preferential supplier award by Emerson Climate Technologies, our top customer, in 2010. This year we were presented the 2014 ‘European Supplier of the Year’ award. This award is given based on both delivery and quality performance as well as cooperation, communication, and approach, etc. and we are very proud of receiving this award as a Turkish family company among hundreds of international suppliers of Emerson.

As YB, what are your thoughts on BEYSAD and expectations of BEYSAD? What can we do for you?

The parts we produce for household refrigerating compressors, the main reason behind our relation with BEYSAD, constituted the majority of our turnover in our first years. However, as the other products we make including industrial type compressor parts and parts we produce for automobile shock absorbers have increased in years, the white appliances sector have started to constitute a small section of our business. We, of course, wish to be more active in the white appliances sub-industry by the contributions of BEYSAD, to contribute in the white appliances sub-industry and to increase the amount of work we do for this sector.

It is very exciting for me to meet with other young people who take an active role in family companies for the formation of YB and to learn from the giants of the sector. I am honored to have the opportunity to listen to the experience, ideas, and visions of people who have worked for years for the Turkish industry, whom I respect deeply, and to create projects with them. Also, I am proud of and enjoy taking part in a comprehensive project like the White Appliances Strategy Certificate and working at the Human Resources Committee, contributing in the development of the sector.